At the opening speech of the Christian nursing school, Pastor Aliou almost broke down in tears, “We have prayed a lot for Christians to have a place in society in Senegal and now I see it happening before my very eyes.” On Jan. 19, 2022, Senegal’s first Christian nursing and midwifery school opened! It is an initiative of the UCMPS association for Christians in Healthcare and its vision is to increase Christian witness in the medical field. Young people are trained to give good quality holistic care from a Christian worldview.
The school is called IISI (Institut International pour la Sante; Integral, in English: International Institute for Holistic Health care). There are 16 students in this first year and the school has room for 25 students for each of the three years of study. The curriculum is largely government determined and experienced teachers from other schools are used. On top of this, a number of modules related to the Christian worldview such as holistic care, community health, and palliative care are taught. Internships are done in the Christian clinics affiliated with our network and entering into international sister school programs is still on the wish list. Tabitha will still be involved in coaching this initiative and may teach some classes.
